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VON ARA
Install view of the Master of Visual Arts exhibition at Gus Gallery, Stellenbosch — porcelain and mixed-media jewellery on slender concrete-topped plinths.
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Master of Visual Arts Exhibition · Gus Gallery, Stellenbosch · December 2021

Where VON ARA Began

In December 2021, Lara completed her Master of Visual Arts with a graduate exhibition at Stellenbosch's Gus Gallery — the culmination of years of study, and the beginning of everything that became VON ARA.

Every brand has an origin. VON ARA's hung on a gallery wall in Stellenbosch.

In December 2021, Lara concluded her studies at Stellenbosch University with the debut of her Master of Visual Arts exhibition at Gus Gallery. It was the culmination of years of research, exploration and growth: her MAVA body of work, built around memory, heritage and identity — and the quiet objects we use to hold onto the people we love.

But the exhibition wasn't a full stop. Select pieces from that formative body of work live on today as part of the VON ARA collection, carrying the spirit of their original showcase into everything Lara makes now.

To walk the full journey — every piece, and the story behind it — explore the MAVA Portfolio on our site.

Pieces from the exhibition

Pair of sterling silver and frosted acrylic brooches bound with cobalt blue thread, from the MAVA exhibition.
Silver, acrylic and cobalt thread — bound brooch pair.
Neckpiece made from two heirloom porcelain teacups holding pressed leaves, joined by a thread-wrapped wooden rod on a yellow suede cord.
Heirloom teacups, pressed leaves, wood and suede.
Neckpiece made from a green and gold patterned porcelain saucer stitched with dark green thread on a yellow suede cord.
Porcelain saucer stitched with green thread.
Brooch of layered clear and yellow acrylic over a rusted leaf-shaped element, with a silver pin.
Acrylic, rusted steel and silver — leaf brooch.
Pendant of translucent resin set with pressed golden petals on a natural suede cord.
Resin with pressed petals on suede.
Long pendant of carved wood tipped with white porcelain, strung on a white suede cord.
Carved wood, porcelain and white suede.
“The graduate show wasn't an ending. It was where VON ARA began.”
Explore the full MAVA portfolio →
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